by Khloe Wren
“She saw Osiris?”
Aaron blew out a breath before answering Stone. “Sure sounds like it. What did he tell you?”
“Well, he didn’t like my questions much, but he confirmed it was him who had been invading me. That Martin needed to be punished for not doing as he was told. He said that now I’d been marked by Ra, he wouldn’t ever be able to take me over, but I needed to train to use my powers myself. I think he’ll visit me again for more lessons. He said he’ll train me to strengthen my mind to gain better control over what I can now do.”
“And aside from bringing the rain — neat trick, by the way — what else can you do?”
Brianna snuggled back in against me with a soft sigh before she answered Falcon. “I can call the lightning cage thing to move around. He said my powers were linked to lightning and storms, so I guess I can do whatever I want with those elements.”
She yawned wide enough her jaw cracked then moved to get herself more comfortable, and within seconds she was sound asleep. So fucking adorable. I leaned in to kiss her temple lightly and when she didn’t react at all, I knew she was completely out.
“Damn, she asleep?”
I nodded to Stone. “Yeah, we’re going to have to work with her on strengthening her mind. She could start a freaking hurricane and pass out before she turned the damn thing off.”
“It’d be a cyclone not a hurricane down here, but I get your meaning.”
I rolled my eyes at Aaron. I knew he was going to be a pain in the ass with “teaching” us all how to speak Aussie.
“Don’t roll your eyes. You want to live down here, you need to learn the language.”
Falcon cut in before Aaron could continue with his lesson in Australian linguistics. “Well, I’m looking forward to working with her. She’ll be a great asset to us, especially once we practice working as a team. We need to contact Croc, see if he’ll join us.”
“Speaking of which, it’s what? Early evening in NOLA right now? Want to make that call and get this shit started?”
Stone chuckled. “You gonna go put sleeping beauty down first?”
I hadn’t planned on it but looking down at her sweet face lax in sleep, I reconsidered and decided there would be less chance of waking her if she were in our bed down the hall.
“Yeah, okay. Give me a minute.”
Careful not to jostle her too much, I took Brianna down to our room and tucked her in before returning to my brothers. I was shocked at how nervous I was about how Jameson would take our request. Did he want to take the Royal Bastards international?
“Right. Let’s do this and get it over with.”
“Stop worrying so much, Spark. He’ll agree to this. He has no reason not to.”
I nodded at Falcon’s assessment as I pulled my phone and dialed Jameson’s number. It rang a few times before he answered.
“Hey, Spark, what can I do for you, brother?”
“Got something me and my blood brothers want to ask you, so I’m gonna put you on speaker phone so we can all hear your response.”
He chuckled. “What, you think I’ll say no? Or is it that you don’t want them to shoot the messenger?”
“Somethin’ like that. Hang on…” I hit the button and cranked up the volume. “You hear us all right?”
“Loud and clear this end. So, how many of you are there?”
“Got Falcon and Stone here, along with Aaron. Not sure you’ve ever met our eldest brother. But we’re planning on asking Croc to join this little venture once we get your approval.”
“Okay, you’ve got my attention. What is it you’re planning on doing? And why aren’t you talking to Nycto about it?”
“This isn’t anything to do with the Tampa chapter, but I will be calling him right after we finish talking to you. As to what we want to do… well, Jameson, how do you feel about being the international president of the Royal Bastards MC, rather than the national one?”
“What the fuck you ramblin’ about, Spark?”
“We ain’t in the States, but Australia. We came down here to deal with a little supernatural issue and I found my woman. Turns out we rather like it down under and want to stay here. But none of us want to leave the club behind, so it’s up to you but we’re requesting you either let us go nomad — which isn’t our preference, we want a chapter to call our own. Somewhere to belong. Or you grant us permission to start a new chapter here in South Australia. Take the Bastards international. What do you think?”
“Fuck, man. You don’t ask the easy questions do you, brother?” He paused and it sounded like he took a drink of something. “Who’d be president?”
“Falcon would be president and me the VP. We’re trying to convince Stone to hand over his nomad patch to join us permanently—”
“Fuck off, Spark. I’m in if Jameson okays it.”
There was silence on the other end of the line. Jameson had always taken each and every one of his chapters seriously. I knew he wouldn’t just okay a new chapter on a whim. And that was one of the reasons the man had my respect. In a tone that brooked no nonsense, he finally responded, “Who else? Gonna need more than three men, brother.”
“Ain’t nothing wrong with starting small. Aaron will prospect in, and we’ll start recruiting as soon as we get set up and sort out the legalities here in Australia regarding setting up a club. Maybe you put the word out to the other chapters for anyone who wants to come down here for a fresh start. We’re happy to take in any Bastard who wants to join us.”
“Falcon? You good with being the president down there?”
“Sure am. Been bossing these boys around for what feels like forever anyhow. Maybe if I’m their president, they’ll start fucking listening.”
“You might be delusional if you think you can bet on them behaving. Don’t get your hopes too high.”
The silence that followed that was awkward as hell but thankfully Jameson didn’t leave us hanging long.
“Okay. Let’s do it. Let’s take the motherfucking’ Royal Bastards MC global. Fuck. Australia… never saw that coming. You get shit sorted and let me know what you need. Keep me posted on what your dealings are and how everything will be played out. You know I’ve got strict rules on that. All chapters are to be transparent, at least to me. Oh, and, Spark?”
“Yeah, Prez?”
“Congrats on finding your old lady, brother.”
After that, we wrapped the call up and Aaron pulled out another bottle of Hennessy for us to have a toast.
“Here’s to the birth of the South Australia chapter of the Royal Bastards MC!”
I threw back the shot then stood with a grin. We were really doing this thing. I get to have it all. My brothers, my club and my woman. Life was good.
“Well, I’m gonna go check on Bri, then call Nycto.”
Falcon stood to follow me out of the room. “Yeah, I need to give Grim a call.”
Meanwhile Stone just held his glass out toward Aaron. “Hit me again. I don’t have to call anyone so I can stay and drink. Damn, we’re gonna have the best stocked bar outta all the chapters.”
Chuckling at Stone’s—probably accurate—assessment, I headed down the hallway, dialing Nycto as I went. When it went through to voicemail, I hung up and hit up Void, Tampa’s VP. His phone rang out because, of course, he didn’t even have fucking voicemail connected, so I pulled up Whiskey to see if he’d answer his damn phone.
“Spark, brother, you calling for a pick up?”
I winced. I really need to tell Nycto or at least Void about leaving first, but I couldn’t lie to Whiskey either.
“No pick up, brother. Listen, I need to get a hold of Void about something fucking important, but his phone is ringing out. You know where he is?”
“He’s using a burner at the moment. I’ll text you the digits.”
We hung up and as I waited for the text, I moved to sit beside Brianna’s sleeping body on the bed, gently running my palm down her side, careful not to wake her with the moveme
nt. Fuck, I loved her.
Once the text came in, I dialed the number and he picked up after the first ring.
“Yo!”
Dammit, he sounded like he had a mouth full of food. I hadn’t meant to interrupt a meal. I’d make sure the call was short so he could get back to it.
“What the fuck is Nycto doing that he’s not answering his damn phone?”
“Asshole’s probably occupied with Eva. How the hell are you? Wait, how did you get this number? It’s a burner phone.”
How the hell did he think I got the damn thing? “Couldn’t get a hold of fucking Nycto, so I tried you. You rang out, so I called Whiskey. Then he gave me this number because I told him it was fucking important.”
“There’s a fucking heap of shit going on at the moment, man. Nycto’s in damage control. I’m not surprised he’s AWOL.”
Guilt hit me hard. Here I was enjoying having everything I could want, and my club was fucking suffering and probably needing me. “Fuck. Now I feel even worse to have to tell you I ain’t coming back.”
“The fuck you talking about? You found a hot piece of Aussie ass or some shit?”
That had me laughing. “Somethin’ like that. Tell Nycto I found my Eva. I’ve already called Jameson, and he nixed me going nomad, so we’re setting up a chapter down here in South Australia. My brother, Falcon, is going to be the prez while I’ll be his VP. So, don’t lose my fucking number, brother, I might be hitting you up for advice with this shit.”
Technically I didn’t end up asking to go nomad, but it softened the blow to Jameson that I wouldn’t ever be coming back, rather than it being my choice to not just go nomad for a while before coming back to Tampa.
“Holy shit! Well, I’m happy for you, brother. Maybe I might have found my Eva, too. Fuck... I don’t know. Shit! This got fucking deep. We’re all turning into pussies.” He paused to huff out a laugh. “Seriously, though, man, I’m happy you’ve found a home there. I sure will miss your broody ass, though.
It was hilarious how blind the man was. Everyone in the club could see how he and Ivy were feeling each other.
“I ain’t the broody one, fucker. And we got Evas popping up everywhere, huh? If you think you’ve found her, I’m sure you have. Don’t let her get away from you. No sense in being lonely when you know where the other half of your soul is…” I glanced to my sleeping mate and cleared my throat against the emotion clogging it. “Okay, yeah, gettin’ way too deep here. Listen, if you or any of the others ever want to come Down Under for a visit or whatever, just let me know. There will always be room for my Tampa brothers.”
“All right, man, I’ll let Nycto know you called, fill him in on what’s happening. And hit me up anytime. Whether you’re in Tampa or Australia, you’re always my brother.”
Ending the call, I decided I’d check in with work later. Tossing my phone onto the nightstand, I then rolled over to spoon up behind my woman, grinning like I’d won the fucking lottery as I cuddled her close to me and closed my eyes for a few minutes.
Brianna
“You ready?”
I took a deep breath to shore up my courage then nodded to Aaron. “As ready as I’ll ever be!”
Spark took my hand in his, giving it a squeeze as Aaron opened the portal.
“Let’s go see the damage.”
I had to force myself to step forward, toward the swirling air that would take me back to Drake. I didn’t know what I wanted to find on the other side. In a way I wanted to find all my things as I’d left them, but I didn’t want my father— no, he wasn’t my dad. I would never call him that again. Martin. It was Martin’s workshop I hoped the fire had destroyed. I didn’t want to even think about what I’d discovered in that horrible building.
“I know it’s hard, rohi. Aaron and I won’t leave your side. And if you want to stay here, we won’t think any less of you for it. You don’t have to do this.”
They’d offered to go look without me, to check on what had been destroyed or what needed to be destroyed. There was no benefit in Martin’s torture chamber being found. He’d received his justice, and as much as I wished the families could have closure by knowing what had happened to their loved ones, revealing his evil to the world for others to mimic wasn’t something the men or I were willing to risk.
“I do. I need to see, to say goodbye to that part of my life.”
Giving his hand a squeeze, I led the way through the portal.
“Oh, damn.”
We’d landed in the middle of the yard, halfway between the house and my studio. The fire had clearly burned hot through here. The house had caved in on itself and I doubted we’d find anything in the mess of iron and charred timber. Martin’s workshop stood as it was stone, but the timber door was completely gone. I nodded over toward it.
“I’m not going in there again. But that’s Martin’s.”
Aaron stepped in that direction. “I’ll deal with the interior. You and Spark can check out your workspace, see if any of your tools made it.”
Spark led me in that direction, but I kept my gaze on Aaron until he vanished inside the stone walls.
“He’ll be fine, rohi. Trust me, he’s seen worse in the past. He’ll get it all cleaned up in a way that no one will know what happened in there. None of Martin’s crimes will blow back on you. I’ll make sure of it.”
With a sigh, I turned to face my studio and took in the damage to the outside. Like the other outbuildings, it was stone so was still standing. Even the roof didn’t look too bad.
“Let me go first.”
I nodded, happy to have him — the immortal one — check for danger while I stayed safely here. Although, that reminded me, I needed to ask the spirit next time I saw him if I’d still age as a normal human. I wasn’t looking forward to growing old and wrinkly while Spark stayed young and perfect.
“It’s safe!”
Taking a breath for courage, I stepped inside and gave my eyes a minute to adjust. As I’d suspected, the fire had basically destroyed everything in here too. Spark was standing over in front of the bed headboard I’d been working on.
“This dragon looks amazing!”
“It did before it was burned.”
He scoffed and tugged me up against his side. “It’s just a little singed on the edges. It adds character. Want to take it back with us?”
I laughed. “You’re crazy. Can we even do that? Take stuff this big through a portal? And where would we put it? We have no house of our own, and I have no workshop.”
He turned me and kissed my lips, silencing me.
“That’ll change soon enough. Now you’re free of that spirit, we can go house hunting. We need to find somewhere for a clubhouse too. Plenty to keep you busy. And our house will definitely have a fully kitted-out workshop for you, love.”
I turned back to look at the headboard, run my fingers over the scales. It had taken me so long to carve all those details on it, and Spark was right. I could cut out the badly damaged parts that thankfully didn’t include the really detailed elements of the dragon.
“It was an order that had been due by the middle of the month. Guess that deadline is well and truly passed now.”
“I think it would look awesome in our future bedroom. A little part of your past to take into the future with us.”
I smiled and looked up into his handsome face. “If you think we can transport it through the portal, then yeah, I’d like to take it with us.”
He kissed me quickly again before pulling back with a grin. “I’ve seen him move bigger things through portals than this.”
Between the two of us we carried it out of the studio and onto what used to the be lawn. As we set it down, I sliced my finger open on a large splinter.
“Ouch. Dammit.”
Spark grabbed my finger and looked at the cut. It wasn’t big, and thankfully wasn’t bleeding a whole lot.
“Did your spirit friend tell you if you were now immortal?”
“Um, no, and it di
dn’t occur to me to ask. I was actually thinking about how I needed to ask him about it earlier. Why?”
He ran his thumb over the cut, wiping the few drops of blood away. “Look. All healed.”
I pulled my hand from his grip to stare at it. He was right. It was completely healed already.
“Holy shit! So, I’m like you now?”
He shrugged but was smiling. “You still should ask. You at least have rapid healing abilities. I wouldn’t go testing the immortality thing until you have a firm answer in the affirmative.”
I rolled my eyes at him. “I have no intention of ever testing it on purpose.”
He glanced past me to the house.
“Did you want to look through the rubble at all? Might find some jewelry or photos or something?”
I looked over at the mess that had once been the house I’d lived most of my life in and shook my head as tears pricked my eyes.
“I had no mementos of my past, no photos or heirlooms handed down. I had photos on my phone, but I have no idea where that ended up.”
I shrugged and was grateful when Aaron came out of the other building.
“That all you want to take back?”
I nodded and chewed my lower lip. He didn’t look good. “Are you okay? We can rest a while before we travel again if you need a minute?”
He shook his head. “I can form the portal. Martin was a sick, evil man and the ghosts of his victims were not resting easy. I’ll be fine. You don’t need to worry about me.”
I had a funny idea I was going to spend a lot of time worrying over Aaron and all the men Spark called brothers.
Epilogue
One month later
Spark
“So help me, woman, you shouldn’t even be in here!”
With a chuckle I followed the sound of Falcon’s voice, knowing it had to be Brianna that was stirring him up. The more she came out of her shell, the more she teased my brothers.
